


From a Distance

by wanderingstoryteller



Series: No one ever said this life would be simple [28]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-21
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-11-27 06:15:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18190823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderingstoryteller/pseuds/wanderingstoryteller
Summary: The question, which no one in the history of the world had likely ever thought to ask was, “how many people does it take to get a litter of kittens out of the wall crawl space of a Sheffield mosque?” The answer is about seven humans plus one Time Lord.





	From a Distance

**Author's Note:**

> This will be a series of ficlets that show the Doctor, Yaz and the other members of Team TARDIS interacting with real news and events as they happen. In most of the ficlets it will largely be team TARDIS simply hearing or reading news the same as anyone else.

The question, which no one in the history of the world had likely ever thought to ask was, “how many people does it take to get a litter of kittens out of the wall crawl space of a Sheffield mosque?” The answer is about seven humans plus one Time Lord.

Everyone at Yaz’s mosque had been on edge since they’d heard the news from New Zealand that friday. It wasn’t the first nor would it be the last time in the twenty first century that a gunman committed a mass shooting in a place of worship but it still got to people. The shooting had happened in New Zealand of all places, somewhere that was supposed to be quiet and safe. Sheffield was also supposed to be quiet and safe. 

Although Yaz had become fairly lax about her own religious observances, she went along with her mom and Sanya the next day to an afternoon service that her mosque was having for the dead and injured in Christchurch. She could feel a quiet sadness and tension in the air from the moment she sat down. A few minutes into the prayers the entire room jump slightly when the side door opened to admit several late arrivals. 

It was perhaps because of this tension that old Mrs. Baqri stayed awake for the prayers instead of drifting off and snoring loudly as she normally did. She was the first one to hear the scribbling scratching sound. 

She of course felt the need to declare very loudly and with great concern that the ghost was back. This caused considerable upset once others started to hear the sound as well, especially among the women of the mosque who had actually seen the “ghost” during its prior tenure in the ladies loo. Any attempt at actually completing the service was pretty much lost at that point.

Somewhat worried that the Shadow Proclamation might be trying to contact the Doctor again, Yaz slipped away to fetch her. She had just reached the coatroom when she realized she had her little sister, her mother, and for some reason also her ex-girlfriend Mona in tow.  

“You’re going to get that Doctor woman right?” asked Mona. 

“Yea, I’m sure this is nothing but if it is something we might need her.”

“How can we help?” asked her mother. Najia was at heart a practical and effective soul. 

“Keep everyone calm, maybe try and discourage anyone from investigating until I get back.”

“Can I come fetch the Doctor with you? I want to see her ship,” said Sonya 

“No stay and help Mom.” 

Sonya pouted but stayed. A few texts led Yaz to the Doctor, Graham and Ryan in a nearby park attempting to fly a kite. It looked like the kite was winning. Both Ryan and the Doctor were struggling to cling to a set of plastic handles as a very large blue butterfly shaped bit of cloth and wire danced across the Sheffield sky. Graham was leaning against a tree and observing with an expression of deep amusement.

It took Yaz’s assistance to finally reel in the kite. As a result, nearly an hour elapsed before they got back to the mosque. Fortunately Yaz’s mother had been successful in convincing everyone that the sound was likely rats and someone from the council was coming. Most of the congregation had calmed and headed off. 

Sheikh Mirza was happy to see them. “Ah Yasmine, you brought your friend from the council. She helped so much with the power issues, I’m sure she can help with this.”

Helping ended up mostly consisted of the Doctor putting a plastic cup against the wall and listening. Then she followed the sound up into the attic. It was a somewhat terrifying place and hadn’t really been cleaned out between the buildings original tenure as a recreation center and its repurposing as a place of worship. 

Najia managed to convince the aging religious leader that he really ought to leave the scrambling to younger folks so they remained in the office and drank tea. Yaz and the others had to climb over a large pile of what looked like the set for a play, some football equipment, and a series of baby cribs. 

It got even weirder when the Doctor started to meow and something answered her. The sound came from a very narrow ventilation space within the wall itself that could be accessed by climbing down from the attic. She shed her coat and rolled up her sleeves. “I’m going in.” 

Normally Yaz would have offered to go with her but she couldn’t with her arm still injured. The Doctor crawled down into the small dark space armed with her glowing sonic. A moment later she called back up. 

“I found them, it’s a momma cat and seven kittens. Go find something I can send them up in while I talk them into coming with me.”

“You speak cat?” yelled down Yaz.

“Of course. I also speak dog and baby. I’m rubbish at gerbil though. For some reason the TARDIS can’t translate most earth animal languages so I’ll have to interpret.” 

Soon enough Mona found a bucket and a cord to lower it with. Yaz expected the Doctor to just deposit the felines into it but apparently a negotiation was underway. 

“The mom wants to know if her family can still stay in the building.”

“I’ll go ask Sheikh Mirza,” offered Sonya and darted away. A moment later she came back and called down. “He says the mom can stay as long as she wants and the babies are welcome until they’re old enough to be adopted out.”

“She agrees. I’m sending her and the kittens up.” 

Ryan and Mona tugged up the bucket full of cats and the Doctor followed a moment later. They carried carried the bucket out of the attic and down the stairs to the main office.

If Sheikh Mirza found anything odd in being formally introduced to the mother cat and all seven kittens by their proper names, he said nothing about it. He may have simply been too excited to meet the felines. 

The Doctor sat cross legged on the carpeted floor as she helped each cat out of the bucket. “This is Ms. Mcgonagall.  She moved her family here two days ago when construction started up in the empty lot across the way. Ms. Mcgonagall this is Sheikh Mirza, he says he will help take care of your family.”

The little tabby edged forward carefully towards the hand the old man held out palm up. “Welcome little sister.”

Ms. Mcgonagall nudged his hand and the old man began to scratch her ears. They were going to get on well. 

“Now these are Tommy, Mr. Fluffykins, Atticus, Snowball, Wheezy, Bobby, and Tater Tot.”  Her attempts to remove all the kittens from the bucket quickly resulted in about half of them deciding to explore her coat. They were all at that wonderful adventurous stage that most kittens entered just after their eyes had opened. 

Yaz and the others helped rescue the Doctor. Even Yaz’s mom was nearly reduced to cooing, although she alone remained practical. 

“These little ones are going to need some basic supplies before the evening and they should see a vet soon.”

Sheikh Mirza looked up from stroking Ms. Mcgonagall. “I’ve still got a cat bed, a litter box and most of the other things from when my little Muezza passed. I meant to give her things away but I never could bring myself to do it. This is very fortuitous, I only live a few doors down, I’ll go fetch them.”

“The mom needs cat food and litter,”  Najia was giving Sonya a pointed look.

She sighed dramatically, “fine I’ll go get those at the shop.”

“My brother just started his residency with a nearby vet. I’m sure he can get us a discount. I’ll ask him about taking them all in for a checkup and shots,” said Mona. Somehow in the course of events she had winded up with a tiny orange tabby on her head.

Najia nodded, “Good and once the vet has seen the kittens I’ll put a notice in the mosque newsletter letting everyone know when the kittens will be available for adoption.”

With a plan made, everyone began to disperse. Prying Ryan away from a little white puffball proved somewhat challenging. 

Graham tried very hard to be stern and failed. “No.”

“But…”

“Son, we are not actually home enough for a cat.”

“What about on the TARDIS?” the Doctor was looking at Yaz with eyes nearly as adorable as the tiny black soot ball she was holding.

Yaz sighed. “Don’t make me be the grown up. I hate being the grownup.”

The Doctor scrunched her nose. “But she’s so little and fuzzy.”

Yaz tried to look stern, “You know perfectly well that we are sometimes away from the TARDIS for days. Even if you can figure out a way to get the ship to feed a cat it will get lonely. They’ll be better of with people here.”

“Fair enough,” the Doctor sighed and set down the kitten to let it tumble on the carpet with its littermates.

“We can still come back and see them of course,” Yaz promised with a sly smile.

The Doctor brightened instantly. 

It was a cool early spring evening when Yaz and the Doctor stepped out into the Sheffield night a short time later. Even with all the air pollution they could still make out a few distant stars as they made their way to the TARDIS. Yaz couldn’t explain it exactly but she felt a tension inside of herself that she had been carrying since the day before finally ease. 

Her faith in the god of her formothers was perhaps not the strongest part of herself but it was there as comfortable and familiar as her nani’s voice. Beyond that she had faith in many things from the brilliance of distance stars to the kindness of human hearts. Some days in her travels and even just watching the news she saw things that weakened her belief in a lot of things, other days, like the one she had just lived, strengthened her. So long as people spent entire afternoons rescuing kittens, she would have faith in humanity. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I came up with this first ficlet last weekend after hearing about the New Zealand Christchurch shooting. Like pretty much everyone else on earth, the news really saddened me. In an odd way I got to thinking about how a tv series like Doctor Who constantly deals with historical tragedies and horror but isn't really equipped to deal with most modern ones, at least not most of the time. That gave me the idea to write a short fic just to think through how Yaz's mosque in Sheffield would process the recent news. I ended up adding some kittens and human kindness because sometimes life is depressing and sometimes you need kittens.


End file.
